Columbia University is under fire yet again after a memo went out late on Monday informing all students and staff that remote or hybrid learning would be the standard until the semester ends.
The announcement came as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protests have created an environment — on Columbia’s campus and at other colleges such as Yale — where Jewish students do not feel safe. After protesters chanted slogans calling for the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel — and one protester was seen holding a sign calling on Al Qasam (the militant wing of the terrorist group Hamas) to target fellow students who carried Israeli and American flags — classes initially were switched to remote for the day on Monday.
But by Monday afternoon, as tensions had not cooled, the Office of the Provost put out new guidance for the remainder of the term:
It’s vital that teaching and…